Older updates

December 2023

Level cap raised to 10
Loot tables
- data imported from EQOA Prima's Official Strategy Guide, excel table provided by Alutra
- A separate list for each biome: Swamp, Plains, Wetlands, Rathe Mountains, Marine, Mountain, Red Desert, Wastelands, Forest, Desert, Arctic, Deep Jungle
- A bit over 3000 items total
- Four drop rates: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Ultra Rare
- Loot is based on the biome of the NPC's spawn position, Tunaria only, quad-zones as defined by Alutra, seen also on the map if zoomed enough
- All NPC's should now have the Generic table in addition to the biome based table
- Items with level requiment more than 1 above your current level shouldn't drop (anymore)
- Drop rates are now quite high for testing purposes: Common 40%, Uncommon 10%, Rare 1%, Ultra Rare 0.1%
Currently level/race/class restrictions of equippable items aren't enforced, to allow testing. For this reason, some equipped items may appear unequipped (no green background) in inventory
Item stats shown in Character menu
Damage formula provided by Imtkain here
- Level diff capped to give more reasonable values for testing
- Weapon level (probably means the level required to use?) in the formula is set to the player's level if they're too low
Stats used in the above formula should now be calculated from the character's base stats and equipment
Character's base stamina and equipment additions affect maximum HP as explained here
Portal Master has a quest, mainly to test the interaction editor, awards an Ultra-rare item (no level consideration for now)
Started on a pet system; as revealed in the quest, saying "hep" will spawn a pet that can tank or heal
Sandstorm Control Panel has an editor for item lists (loot tables, quest loots, maybe merchants), not very easy to use at the moment but was used to place quest drops
Sandstorm Control Panel also has an interaction editor that can produce interactions from simple oneliners to quests. Missing things, but it was used for the current quests
Started Lua scripting system compatible with Project Return Home but had to remove it because license issues prevented Sandstorm using their scripts. Freeport starter quests (by Alutra) now partially implemented with the SCP Interaction editor
Some quest item drops added to enable the Freeport quests, working to some extent. Quest item rewards not yet written in
Quest states aren't currently saved to database so you can complete quests again after re-login
New player's world greetings from Alutra's excel, shown every login now for testing, partially imported

Under construction & consideration

Some item handling bugs were fixed but apparently you may still get a "problem happened while equipping" error. Logging out and in resolves this. I've seen it in server logs but haven't been able to reproduce it lately. If you can find a consistent way of producing the error, please let me know. It happens when the server and client have a different idea about the items or their order in the inventory, i.e. somehow get their inventories in desync.

Attack speed is now about the same for everyone and every weapon except a bit faster for pets. What should it be? According to this, perhaps just a hard-coded value based on chacter type.

Bows and thrown weapons not implemented. No idea yet as to fire rate, range, damage, possibly required protocol details, etc. Haven't even checked if any documentation exists.

Loot tables - items were matched by names listed in the Prima guide. Not all items were found in the current database and some possibly had several matches. In these cases the item hasn't been added to loot tables.

The loot tables don't have below-Common junk (did such exist in the game? I have no memory). The current item database seems to contain over 4000 items that aren't on any of the loot tables.

Some items seem to have zero max HP (are eternally broken) in the items database? Some don't have any model ID defined so they aren't visible when equipped.

Spells/abilities - no updates since the first batch sent by Imtkain (I think), I should probably start working on that some time.

NPC stats, HP's, AC's, etc. are currently pretty random. For many of them I use level-based formula I saw somewhere: 0.087 * L² + 2.403 * L + 81.363 with a guesstimated multiplier. XP granted from a mob comes from a similar formula.

19 December 2023

A couple of things

A quick and simple weather system. The EQOA client can display three intensities of either rain or snow. They can now start with a low probablilty anywhere, based on the biome, except Desert or Marine zone-quads (because rain in desert is unusual and marine can be arctic or not, nobody goes there, and it would require extra steps to determine if a marine zone is arctic or not, i.e. should it rain or snow).
With a low probability the weather of a location can intensify, with a bit higher probability it can calm down a step. Weather can spread out to neighbouring zones (also Desert or Marine) to smooth out weather differences between zone borders. Not sure if works.
Rhaanu who has worked with Imtkain etc. emailed me a sheet containing abilities/spells. I imported that but for now it's mainly the appearance; the actual effects mostly aren't coded yet.
In the Portal Master quest, bat wing probably didn't drop due to an oversight, maybe fixed
Why don't I get epic loots anymore? Because the level restriction. The loot tables from Prima Guide seem to have only about 70 items usable on level 10 and about 20 on level 5, so there isn't much variance.

20 December 2023

Robes may be visible now. Fixed some other bugs in how gear is displayed
Some robes are probably wrong in the item database, getting equipped in the belt slot or unequippable
Major rework of the spells system underway, they may work inconsistently or not at all

22 December 2023

abilities can be memorized
preliminary implementation of some types of abilities continued, mainly
- heal/damage
- stats change, DoT, HoT
- alter appearance
- summon pet (all behave the same but may have different stats)
- create item basically done but didn't find correct data about the items, so disabled for now
- appropriate spell effects should be scaled according to stats, but not yet level-scaled
- most types of abilities yet unimplemented
- abilities that target the group only affect yourself
Not tested much, a lot of things are likely broken and numbers weird, partially because people have high-level gear on levels <= 10
Buffs/debuffs visible
etc

4 January 2024

Level cap raised to 20
Fixed some bugs (and probably made some new). "Problem happened while equipping" hasn't appeared in server logs after some fixes about a week ago
Figured out how to make bows work, required a couple of previously unknown UDP packet fields
With that, had to rework basic combat timing to keep server and clients better in sync. It hopefully works more logically now, taking in account the autoattack option.
Only simple bows tested so far on ranger, crossbows might not work yet
Get arrows from the grocer at Darvar Manor
Mostly for fun, made quick .ESF to JavaScript exporter. The owl and snowman you may see here and the main page were made with that. Example scene (content warning: heavy, don't try on an old PC or mobile device). If I get around to making a web-based item editor, this could be used to display/select 3D models for weapons
etc

5 January 2024

3D models of equippable items now shown in the Control Panel item data
200 item models extracted. Apparently 60 of them aren't used in the current Hagley-originated database.
You can search models by keyword (currently keywords are the name of a random item using the model) or view the unused items
Example model
Item graphics can be rotated with mouse
TODO: assign models to items to correct missing or erroneous model ID, or to newly created items
Some items with special effects or materials probably don't render correctly since the .ESF file format hasn't been 100% figured out

6 January 2024

Some new Control Panel features to edit the items database
Added keywords to 3D item models
Item database updates: erroneous models, colors, equip slots etc. corrected for about 900 items, mostly by Lardubedu
etc

9 January 2024

A lot (hundreds if not thousands?) of armor items had an empty model in the item database so they wouldn't appear on the character. Default model chosen for them
A lot of equip slot, icon, etc. fixes from Lardubedu
More item editing options in SCP
Updated how target "ring" color changes, based on suggestion from Rhaanu
SCP has a tool for creating and editing lists of roaming wildlife. Their spawn spots can be set by clicking on the map, making it relatively easy and quick to populate zones with them
Roamers added for Freeport and around Halas, visible on the map in green
Other fixes and internal reworkings so malfunctions aren't totally unexpected

11 January 2024

Got a new version of item database from Wisbe, about 60 new items
More item fixes. Found where the armor model/type is stored in Faxon's database format, so armor should look right now (but a lot of weapons are still missing 3D models)
Placed some roaming NPC's to a lot of places around Tunaria, over 3000 mobs
- Did this quickly with a map-based clicking tool so there might be some errors. E.g. you can't see from the map view if an NPC is underground. Clicking to add a roamer will place it on the ground
- The roamers might be too sparse but these can be adjusted later
A lot of loot tables added, built by Lardubedu
Fixed some weapon animations. Normal bow, 1h and 2h crossbows now show different animation and should work with correct attack speed. Also spears, dual wielded weapons etc. show correct animation but probably only if your character's level and class allow those weapons. The game client has some of that logic built in and can't be easily overridden.
etc

14 January 2024

More item fixes. For example, many crossbows were apparently misclassified as normal bows in the item database
Collecting online time statistics started around December 22 2023. Since then, the sum of online time of all players is about 2600 hours. During this time 121 accouts visited the game world
Added the latest dialogue updates from Alutra. Currently slightly over 60% of all friendly NPC's seem to have some kind of dialogue
- Some coachmen broken until next reboot. You can of course still use the teleport option on SCP
Experimented with pushing new graphics via patch server. Jasper Darvar now has a custom-made shield
SCP has the option to add tags (words) on item lists and NPC's. This may simplify loot generation. E.g. all wolves could have the "wolf" tag. They will automatically drop items in any item lists that have the "wolf" tag.
etc

17 January 2024

New quest system converting Alutra's Excel quest content to Sandstorm-compatible Java code
With that, some Freeport Human Magician, Bard and Alchemist quests added
Quest items, loot tables and an NPC (Crim Arikson) added to enable those
Freeport Human Magician quest chain tested until Crim Arikson, but some of his quests not currently doable
Freeport Human Bard and Alchemist starter quests probably work up to some point, not tested
Reminder: quest states aren't saved at the moment (to simplify testing) so after logout all quest info is reset
For the new quests, items won't be removed from inventory after completion, so you won't have to re-kill mobs in order to re-test a quest
bug fixes
etc

19 January 2024

Melee/ranged damage calculations used a wrong number for weapon damage, fixed (thanks Wisbe for noticing)
Vertical movement of other players a bit smoother in multiplayer situations
Under the hood improvements
etc

20 January 2024

Item updates, e.g. Oggok starter quest items created by Lardubedu (quests not done yet). Eel quest drop was disabled for some reason, fixed.
Some spell updates from Rhaanu, e.g. fixed water elemental sprites
Quest state is now saved so you won't lose quest progress on logout
For quest testing/development purposes you can reset your quest flags in SCP, the management tab, while character in game
Excel-imported quests now shouldn't get deadlocked if quest item doesn't fit in inventory
etc

22 January 2024

Quest update from Alutra for Freeport human wiz awar sk rge nec mag enc cl bar alc, about 90 quests total converted from Excel format
Some NPC's, items and loot tables added to support those
The quests are mostly untested, some drops etc. may still be missing. All magician quests tested and seem to work.
Quest items from Lardubedu for Grobb and Halas (quests still missing)
Some roamers added
Added a default maxhp and durability to equippable items that had zero, over 3000 items
Over 2000 equippable items in the database had classuse = none, probably wrong, set them to usable by any class for now
bug fixes etc

26 January 2024

More item updates
Non-Tunaria NPC spawning was broken for a few days due to some changes, fixed
Some preliminary factions implementation. If you kill a mob that has a faction defined, you'll see messages about your faction reputation changes, unless disabled in options
NPC's show the blue/white/red face icon based on your standing with the faction
Players have an initial faction standing/reputation with some factions, no race/class differences yet
There is a lack of data on factions so we basically have to set them manually one by one NPC (except cases where you can automate it based on NPC names etc) so it's far from complete
Aggro based on factions enabled in a couple of zones: Jared's Blight and Bandit Hills currently (may change real-time if problems)
Aggro radius max 20

30 January 2024

Big NPC update from the Hagley team, thanks
- Says Nukesonu, "took a few years to get this update out but all zones should now have a beta population."
- Importing the new data is not straightforward as it re-uses a lot of ID numbers of already existing NPC's. On the other hand the Hagley database doesn't have the many recent updates done in the Sandstorm database. Some programmatical heuristics used to reconcile the databases but complications are possible.
- Dispersing new wildlife groups under progress
Faction definition for NPC's ongoing
Faction-based aggro is now indicated on the map by colors (blue, white, red) to help spotting wrongful aggressions
Spontaneous aggro won't happen if the path to reach the player is > 40 units (meters?) long. Eventually there should be a line-of-sight evaluation but meanwhile this might eliminate many through-the-wall aggros.
Bankers
Inventory arranging
Big database backend change hopefully improving the speed of many operations but problems possible
Some backend inventory handling changes, should solve problems but new ones possible
Bugfixes, etc.

4 February 2024

bugs possibly fixed:
- Loot All malfunction if part of the items didn't fit in the inventory
- Item arrange malfunction (items order usually still reverts after relogin, will fix that some time)
- Deposited items could be lost if bank was full (fixed already on 30 Jan)
- Some combat pathing and disappearance issues ensued from recent changes
- The damage formula produces negative damage with certain "unrealistic" stats that people currently have
- Pet max HP wasn't right
Added some missing grouping functions
etc

8 February 2024

Group member name bars didn't show up after leaving your first group, fixed
Range of some melee abilities was too small, fixed
Attacking mobs now maintain facing towards the target while adjusting distance (mainly cosmetic)
Quests created with the SCP interaction editor (e.g. Portal Master) now check inventory space before completing the quest so rewards shouldn't be lost
If Skandalf and the cat bother you, talk to the latter and ask them to leave you alone. Talk again to accept their help
Imported the abilities Google sheet recently updated by Rhaanu. The structure changed, rewrote some import code, so there may be problems. Not sure if there are other spell changes
Under the hood changes with timing etc, complications possible
etc

19 February 2024

Big pathfinding update
- Mob pathing in Tunaria & Oggok & Odus should work better now
- Outside them, new pathfinding data not yet generated, so mobs, including pets, go through walls, ground and other obstacles
etc

20 February 2024

Generated pathfinding data (navmeshes) for the rest of the areas: Lavastorm, PoS, ZP, PoD

21 February 2024

Level cap 25
After death you get resurrected at a spiritmaster
Characters' last bound positions haven't been previously stored in the database, so if you die and haven't interacted with a spiritmaster after this update, you'll be resurrected at your character's initial spawn point
Some spell fixes; e.g. AoE ranges were wrong after the major Google Sheet update and some snare/root effects didn't work right
etc

23 February 2024

To reduce the weird effects from arbitry item levels, item stats are now scaled based on their required level and the player's level
- Meaning stats are decreased if you use high-level gear
- If this proves too painful for playtesting, I'll adjust or revert it soon
- After level-up, gear stats will increase if they were under their intended minimum level. The increase isn't currently visible in the numbers you see in inventory until next login, but the new stats are still in effect
It's possible to loot items ~~that are up to 10 levels higher than your level~~ of any level
Some changes to SCP to discourage "abuse"
Some combat/pet AI changes with positioning etc
Tried to find an algorithm to fix the problem of some roamers spawning in trees
- happened e.g. Fayspires
- Some probably unrelated pathing problems remain at least in Permafrost - some mobs seem to find their way to an underground ice layer
etc

25 February 2024

kill XP changes
- Using a new formula based on community knowledge
- Only the group (or solo player) doing the most damage to a mob should get XP; previously everyone on the mob's aggro table got XP
- Total XP for a kill is determined mostly by the level difference between the mob and the highest-level group member
- Since killing high-level mobs is greatly easified, the level difference in calculations is capped to 3 (i.e. you get same XP for killing a +10 lv mob as +3)
- Total XP shared to a group is more than for a solo kill, more bonus for bigger groups
- XP is shared between members based on their level distribution, higher level = bigger share
- If a group member's level is too low compared to the highest member, no XP to them
- If mob level is too low compared to the highest member level, no XP to anyone
- It's a bug-prone process, so for now you get a bit of debug info for group XP, hopefully making easier to track potential bugs
Some alchemy progress
etc

28 February 2024

implemented some new spell effect types: defensive and offensive procs, lull (reduce aggro radius)
SoW-type effects break when engaging in combat or casting spells (not sure what exactly should break it)
new Portal Master quest with exclusive rewards by Lardubedu
alchemist fixes
some faction/aggro fixes
group AoE graphic fixes
prepare/toolbelt
etc

01 March 2024

many ability fixes, thanks for feedback everyone
NPC's and pets can now cast spells
- they currently only do heal, damage and pet abilities, where available (not buffs etc.)
- NPC abilities are based on their level and class, on which we have incomplete and sometimes erroneous data
- these spells are currently not "easified" based on levels like melee/ranged combat damage so they may add to the challenge
- Portal Tulpas no longer heal because their abilities haven't been set up
fixed some mobs not spawning, e.g. in PoS
etc

02 March 2024

pet drain effects were broken, fixed
pet's "name label" is now displayed on the left side of screen
- ~~not fully working, pet name apparently doesn't update after summoning new pet~~
pets no longer targetable with the right button but the left one
pet attack and backoff implemented, the rest of pet commands not yet
some changes to NPC abilities (e.g. they no longer use CM-based spells like summon Swamp Friend)
pets now also benefit from the level "easification" so they survive better against high-level mobs
etc

05 March 2024

buffs clear on death
bard's Sweeping Flurry no longer DoT but one-hit
some item fixes by Siri
mob offensive spell adjustments
Miraculous potion level now 60 (was 1 for testing)
etc

08 March 2024

spell fixes
pet fixes
AoE spells used by mobs could hit bystander NPC's leading to escalating unrest among townsfolk. These AoE's should now only hit mobs that have already engaged in the conflict
Freeport human shadowknight starter questline tested and fixed; e.g. added more orc pawns north of Freeport and a couple of missing NPC's, fixed buggy NPC's, added missing loots and fixed a couple of logical bugs
etc

09 March 2024

various spell fixes
portal pet changes
- they can be any class now (only warrior before) so they do different things, to make it a bit more interesting
- the pet's level is now capped to 15 and is a little less than the caster's
- "hep" has a 1-minute cooldown
mobs can use shapeshift spells appropriate to their level and class where available
group-targeting spells cast by pets now affect their owner
group-targeting spells don't affect every group member's pet, only the caster's pet if any (not sure if right)
default movement speed adjusted based on research
etc

11 March 2024

group member dots are back on the compass display
- turned out they went missing because our patched addart.csf file containing the cat shield doesn't contain "graphics" for the dots which was in the original addart.csf on game disc
- removing the graphics patch brought the dots back but Jasper Darvar's cat shield is gone until I build a new addart.csf with both the dots and cat shield
various fixes
etc

12 March 2024

some level 20+ double-swing damage timing was wrong, fixed
you get training points with leveling and can spend them to increase stats
- this helps somewhat to increase melee damage which has sometimes seemed low
- every suspicious case I've checked in the past weeks has matched with values from the community-contributed damage formula so I'm not currently aware of any server-side bug with damage calculation
started working on artificial intelligence
etc

16 March 2024

various fixes
with the growing attendance, some timing instabilities in movement, spells, etc. have emerged
- upgraded server to the next plan with 2 GB of memory
- optimized and rewrote parts of code, so complications are possible
portal pet level adjustment (previous update to this had a typo)
etc

18 March 2024

more optimizations and fixings
xpli made Gnome Cleric starter quests and Temby lv 25 quest with the SCP interaction editor
some corrections to Rhaanu's spell data from Lardubedu, e.g. some AoE spells
abilities consume power
max power according to formula here
power and health regeneration (HoT & PoT)
- base regeneration per tick is currently 2% of unbuffed max
- HoT contribution from items should be right, but PoT is currently simple sum which is probably wrong (fix next reboot)
- HoT currently ~~doesn't show up as green numbers~~ shows up as green numbers for the buffed part. Base HoT doesn't
- ~~So certain heals that increase the HoT statistic won't show up in green.~~ Wrong, maybe? The jury is still out
pets that have nothing better to do now occasionally taunt and self-heal (where available)
etc

19 March 2024

various changes
grocers around Tunaria deliver dried beef and well water for health/power regeneration, free of charge for a limited time
etc

21 March 2024

People have had problems with DNS settings, so I made new patch/cheat files that should work with any DNS settings, links on the front page
More item fixes from Lardubedu, Dro Harvey, others
Added some roamers in Klick'Anon for xpli's upcoming quests
etc

23 March 2024

various optimizations to accommodate the growing population
a lot of quests by Krumpzilla added, barbarian and dwarf lv 1-20
- adding NPC's, items and loot tables still in progress so not necessarily 100% completeable yet
Lardubedu has continued to work on Rhaanu's spell data
- some spell-created items added to database
- fixes to alchemist potions
- some other spell fixes
rewrote some creatable item stuff so e.g. Ranger forage and Magician summon item abilities should work
etc

25 March 2024

Lots of new quest interactions from Xpli and Krumpzilla, including but not limited to: barbarian, gnome, Temby, Wyndhaven - even some level 30 sidequests
Sandstorm Assistant is a new context-sensitive virtual assistant based on our own version of ChatGPT. She will guide you through the Sandstorm Control Panel and warn you about potential hazards
New item editor allows editing all aspects of items and creating new items, available to contributors. If you want to contribute to the item database, please contact Xylof@kiekko.tv
etc

27 March 2024

hide/invisibility types of spell effects implemented, greatly reducing enemy aggro range
backstab type of spell effect implemented
with the recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence, aggro range is now lower behind the enemy and backstab only works behind the enemy
more fixes to ability/spell data by Lardubedu
appropriate gear shown in character selection
~~buff stacking implemented as per Rhaanu's data (link above); casting a weaker spell with the same stack type does nothing, casting a stronger buff overrides a weaker buff~~
- looks like the stacking data on the Google sheet may not be fully accurate so some buffs may currently improperly cancel each other out
- removed stacking for now until there's some consistent and reliable data on how to do it
fixes to the item editor
quest and item additions by e.g. xpli and Krumpzilla ongoing
etc

29 March 2024

various fixes
new quests from xpli: gnome cleric up to lv 20, Klik' Anon lv 17, Seark Tower lv 27, lv 23 Feria
from Renodor: Qeynos human magician quests up to lv 20
aggro enabled in Runnyeye
over 80 new items (mostly for quests) have been created by contributors with the new item editor in the last a couple of days
and about 130 existing items fixed
etc

31 March 2024

various fixes
removing a quest from the journal should now work properly; you can repick the quest
some quest NPC and item additions
from xpli: fixed some bugs on various quests, added a dockmaster system
another stab at the buff stacking question, mainly based on data in Rhaanu's Google Sheet and logic here
fixed the live patch deployment so that Jasper Darvar's cat shield (proof of concept art asset) can coexist with the group member compass dots
etc

6 April 2024

Various fixes, e.g. to some spells and stacking
New NPC editor allows contributors to fully edit existing NPC's and add new ones (work in progress)
- A few quest-related NPC's were added by xpli
Also from xpli:
- Some quest fixes, e.g. Feria
- Level 17 quests: Syrus Gladestride, Holthis D'Worok, Murian Stonebeard
- And a couple of level 30 quests
Aggro has been enabled in about 40 zones, after xpli checked NPC factions
etc

12 April 2024

Various fixes
Many quest updates from xpli. Level 17 quests now require the correct level. Gnome Magician quests available to level 20
Excel-based quests (by Alutra) now also check the minimum level
Players' default factional standings have differences based on race. List of racial faction differences compiled by xpli
Renodor and Krumpzilla have continued their quest work too
- level 17 quest rewards should look similar to what they were in the original game
- all Halfling starter quests available
Also by Renodor: Monk quests level 1-20 created, 20+ NPC's added
A lot of NPC's and items added/fixed
Some fixes and additions to the item and NPC editors
- An NPC can now have several interactions assigned
- They are executed in order from the first to last, until a matching "non-default" conditional action is found
- Non-default means a conditional action with non-empty conditions or actions other than just a dialog box
- Order of interactions can be changed on the Entity page and interactions can be disabled if needed (by contributors)
- If no matching conditions are found, the last found default dialogue is shown
- The change allows independent edits to several quest interactions for the same NPC
- And if any bugs in the Excel-based quests should occur, they could be patched by adding an interaction in the list above the Excel quests overriding the problematic quest step
- Streamlined the process of pushing changes to live server
etc

14 April 2024

Spell descriptions and some fixes from Lardubedu
Clarified the interaction list on Entity page
For new interactions, some authorship info is shown in the forementioned list and the interaction editor
Patched the apparently malfunctioning Duminven step of some Excel-format Freeport starter quest with an SCP interaction
- ~~The necromancer one possibly still broken~~
etc

21 April 2024

various fixes
level cap 29
Renodor quest updates
- Western Human 1-20 complete for CLR, ENC, MAG (dialog rewrite), PAL, WIZ RGE (dialog contribution by Sontosegara)
- fixed 50+ items
- Bandit Hills Badit and Serpent Guardian camps loot tables
Quest updates from Krumpzilla, apparently e.g. some Western Human DRD, WAR, BRD
Announcements board in some cities give some information about game, updates, quests, etc. First created by Xpli, minor edits by me, some updates by Renodor
From xpli: Gnome Wiz and WAR starter quests done
Roamer/spawn list editor in SCP allows contributors e.g. to place roamers (in addition to the nearly 1000 provided by Hagley team in 2021 and almost 9000 placed by me Xylof)
AoE spells should now properly apply the primary damage only to the main target and secondary damage (if defined) to the surrounding targets
etc

4 May 2024

various fixes
popup interaction system for quests
interactions can trigger dynamically spawning NPC's
roamer list editor in SCP, can also be used to create stationary copies of existing NPCs
quest progress, e.g.
- from Renodor: Elf lv 1-20 BRD, DRD, CLR, ENC, MAG, PAL, RAN, ROG, WIZ complete, dialogue contribution by Sontosegara
- from Krumpzilla: Western Human Bard, Ranger, Druid, Warrior. Dark Elf Necro, SK, Wiz, Magician. ENCH/CLR in progress with tuning overall for delf
- from Sahir: Erudite lv 1-10 Cleric, Enchanter, Magician, Necromancer, Paladin, Shadow Knight and Wizard
charm-type spells preliminary implementation
- the information I found about the details is fragmentary so this is still probably quite far from what it was in the original game
- the system is rather permissive at the moment, almost anything lower than your level can be charmed
- level difference and charisma affect the chance of the spell succeeding, and the chance of it breaking spontaneously
- certain yet unaddressed aggro issues may cause strange behaviors
- added a charmability field in the database but it hasn't been defined for most NPC's
etc

8 May 2024

part of damage inflicted by abilities/spells can be resisted
- for physical abilities, a damage mitigation formula derived from the normal damage formula (by Imtkain (and others?)) is used
- level, AC and agility affect physical damage mitigation
- magical ability resistances calculated as detailed here
- previously 100% of ability-based damage has landed on the target which made mob damage very spiky
- effect of the change on physical abilties is probably considerable, but less so for magical abilities since resistances are probably low in the current level range
- mobs and pets also resist damage in this way
NPC's class setting (can be seen on SCP) now affects its stats
- previously all stats were the same, based only on level
- now the stat is scaled down if it's a secondary stat (-25%) or neither primary or secondary (-50%)
- this may affect NPC health, ability scaling, combat, regeneration, etc.
etc

10 May 2024

NPC's won't cast attack abilities that have a recast time of more than 2 minutes
a couple of additions to the SCP interaction editor
- interactions can trigger NPC aggro against a player
- actions can be triggered when the NPC was killed
- conditions can test against specific faction standings
etc

18 May 2024

various fixes
by Renodor: fixed level 1-30 robes (type, colors, classes, stats), a lot of more robes available to monks
by xpli: gnome starter quests done for all classes
by Krumpzilla: dark elf enc/cleric/warrior quests, along with more item balancing
by ShadowRampageTV: ogre level 1-20 war, sk, nec, sha quests
SCP teleport removed
coaches won't be available until you sign the ledgers
coachpersons won't serve you if your faction standing with them is -100 or less
players' default factions updated, class now also considered (previously they were based only on race), data compiled by xpli
etc

25 May 2024

various fixes
quest development ongoing as we speak, including
- by ShadowRampageTV: reimplemented Freeport human starter quests for all classes in the SCP interaction editor (easier for us to fix/maintain than the Excel versions)
- by Renodor: Qeynos Alchemist
arctic biome items fixed by xpli
quests made with the interaction editor can now grant (or revoke) faction standing
offensive procs no longer trigger on every hit, chance now 25% + 1% for every 10 points of INT (as per GameFAQs.com)
some random stats on contributions by our volunteer quest/item/NPC creators, made with the SCP editors:
- about 1100 currently active NPC interactions (not counting "trivial" ones)
- about 1100 new items
- about 4600 item updates
- about 830 new NPC's
- thanks!
some random stats on players/testers:
- about 3000 accounts
- about 8400 characters
- about 81000 cumulative online hours since December 22
- thanks!
etc

2 June 2024

various fixes
by Renodor: plethora of quest work
- Special thanks to Sontosegara for creating dialogue for all quest implemented and Chika for all testing done
by ShadowRampageTV (partially in progress):
- werehunter ability quest level 30
- Salt Mines roamers lv 36-45 added
- West Feerrot roamers lv 16-25 added
- Bastable Village side quest lv 33
- Blakedown side quest lv 33
- Highpass Lord Voriander quest lv 35
- ... Fender Crow lv 35
- ... Rin Tintoggle lv 35
- Special thanks to Sontosegara HP 35 side quest dialog / Krumpzilla 33 side quest dialog
- faction adjustments
by Sahir:
- Erudite lv 1-20 cleric, enchanter, magician, necromancer, paladin, shadow knight, wizard
- Erudite lv 1-15 alchemist
- Troll lv 1-20 shadow knight, shaman and warrior
etc

8 June 2024

various fixes
by ShadowRampageTV: reworked roamers in Oggok (1-10), Oggok Gate (11-20), Ogre ruins (21-30)
by xpli: spell scrolls added to merchants
quest bugfixes
item trading
factions list
class mastery XP and points can now be acquired
class mastery panel is still work in progress, CM's can't be bought yet
some fixes to conjurable items: buff icons, cast time, range
added an Aggro condition in the interaction editor; can be used to override the normal aggro logic of NPC's, e.g. for wereform quests
etc

10 June 2024

Class Masteries can be bought
CM abilities are learned from the bought CM's, not automatically anymore
CM's may also remove depreciated abilities (e.g. Ursus Guise when you learn Ursus Guise +)
stats gained from CM's partially implemented (mostly basic stats but not ~~off mods or HP factor~~ movement speed or ~~STR MAX~~ etc)
mastery XP capped to the same number as normal XP
- just to avoid some of the chaos and problems due to incomplete CM implementation
can't remove CM's yet
level cap 35
etc

12 June 2024

overcrowding has caused issues so an upper limit has been imposed on the number of simultaneous players
- currently 90
- probably upgrading server tomorrow (more memory)
etc

13 June 2024

server upgraded and moved to Ashburn, VA
since the IP address changed, you have to download a new patch/cheat file
- For Frontiers: eeee1fcc.pnach
- For EU vanilla: 973e3177.pnach
- or if you're using an old patch without IP-address embedded, change the DNS server to 5.161.217.188
etc

15 June 2024

Sandstorm Discord server, hopefully helps us to better respond to bug reports etc.
by ShadowRampageTV: Oasis #1 lv 37 Min Gyrind Ability Quest, Oasis #2 lv 37 Rigo Darter Quest, Oasis #3 lv 37 Svenle Dormio Quest
by xpli: Storyteller quests etc.
by Renodor: Qeynos, Surefall Glades complete; roamers set up, starter quest items lv 3-4 drop rate increased
some spell problems fixed
- all invisibility spell/item effects had a visual issue and broke shapeshift effects, fixed
- Wilting Flesh level adjusted
- Rotting Flesh model fixed
- group HoT spells didn't show the tick graphic, fixed
- some spells didn't correctly add power to the target
- alchemist adhesive ranges fixed
- wereforms didn't grant stats
- etc
extreme weather changes alleviated
etc

23 June 2024

various updates
by ShadowRampageTV: werehunter vampire Tserina quest
by xpli: three lv 47 quests and AoF, desert and marine loots revised
lots of spell, CM and miscellaneous fixes and adjustments after Discord bug reports, too many to exhaustively mention/remember here; for more info, please join there
trade window times out after a minute
pets no longer connable with the right button
recent charm aggro problems fixed
faction adjustments
all pet buffs now show an icon on the caster
visual issues with invisibility spells fixed
toolbelt no longer resets/clears after logout/death
spell cast accepted to be in range if the cast was started within range
stat caps implemented, possible to increase with CM's
resistance display bug fixed
spell updates by Lardubedu, e.g. fixed SoW icons and various spell/CM attributes
cooldown added to usable conjured items like Lava Stone
NPC's can now have strengths and weaknesses, i.e. lower or higher than normal stats or resistances. Data imported from the Prima Guide
CM added stats work: maximums (STR MAX etc.), HP factor, off/def mods, except movement speed for now
our official Discord bot the cat updates notable events like level-ups, deaths, server restarts and communications from the game server to Discord
etc

29 June 2024

quests by Krumpzilla: all Eternal Desert 43's and Castle Lightwolf 45's
Hunt and Gathering Update from Renodor
spell and CM fixes by Lardubedu
by Sontosegara: Dialogue for Dark Elf Alc is finished now and Dark Elf Rge 13, 15, 20, quests under construction
a lot of other quest / item / NPC updates
generated new navigation data for Tunaria to fix pathing problems near zone borders
spells that drain stats now stay active even after the target mob dies (probably the intended way)
spells that drain HP/power end when the target mob dies (laws of physics)
ability equipment requirements (specific type of weapon or a shield) are now enforced
changed dual-wield damage calculation to be more consistent with the melee animation
- with double and quad hits, the secondary weapon is swung first, followed by the primary one
- double/quad hits with one hand unarmed now correctly calculate the unarmed hit instead of using the weapon for all hits
unarmed damage itself is still a total guesstimate (should monk be different from others?)
some pathfinding changes to allow mobs to reach water and other unreachable places
interactions made in the SCP interaction editor can be now linked with items to add functionality to them (e.g. teleport stones, maybe weapon/armor procs in the future)
based on Discord discussion, base HoT and PoT are now calculated from the current (buffed & itemed) maximum HP/power instead of base maximum HP/power
vendor items tagged as food or drink in SCP will replenish 1/8 of the HP/power pool per tick (until we set up the items in a more granular way)
For more updates, details and development discussion please join our Discord
etc

7 July 2024

various bug fixes
quests by Krumpzilla: Dead Hills 53/55, Kerra Isle 53/55, Envaric Ascension
many spell/CM fixes by Lardubedu; also some 4th of July festivities
more spell effects implemented: invulnerability, faction change (illusion, glamour), some spells that remove an effect
Portal pet level capped to 10
pets can now buff their owner (wizard Familiars and Guardians, Contraption)
drain buff cast by a pet is indicated with an icon (not sure if right)
some fixes to connect Class Masteries with quests
mob resistances changed; no longer derived from their WIS but from their specific strengths and weaknesses
added a preliminary breaking logic to root effects, based on damage, level difference and random chance
NPC spell casting can be customized with the SCP interaction editor
interactions can detect what NPC spells or other attacks hit player(s) and do choices and actions based on that (examples on Yeoman Lorne)
weapon procs can be implemented with the SCP interaction editor: test
Sandstorm featured on MAWK3's "Most Active Playstation 2 Online Games in 2024"
more detailed development info on our Discord
etc

14 July 2024

various fixes
ShadowRampageTV: added in total 3500 pieces of gear for tradeskills
Renodor: level 49 Epic Group 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 complete, added over 3400 NPCs into the DB to be used to rebuild zones and customize NPC depending on level
many spell/CM fixes by Lardubedu
many item fixes by xpli
ignore function added
- this is account-based: ignore list is shared among all characters of your account
- ignoring one player will ignore all characters of that account
- ignore encompasses: say, shout, whisper, trade, group invite
- not tested much
fixed a bug in network code causing problems in long sessions (e.g. everything cons white and things become unresponsive)
defensive and offensive item procs can now be easily added with the SCP interaction editor: video
etc

21 July 2024

various fixes
a lot of item fixes by xpli
many spell fixes by Lardubedu
experimental Group Finder
- say "LFG" to enter the Group Finder listing, "LFG OFF" to leave it
- after "LFG" you can add an optional short description of what you want to do
- people can browse the list and invite players
- this was done by repurposing the existing Buddy List which brings some limitations
some buff stacking changes
- CM-upgraded spells no longer stack with the original versions
- CM spells named "Group something" are treated as single-target spells stacking-wise to process group-upgraded spell versions correctly
some improvements to multiplayer movement and animations
escort quest system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKwoW11nUPA
NPC's may now also follow a path defined in SCP, some path choice logic can also be programmed in the interaction editor, example
Sphere of Annihilation spawns if AFK XP'ing is detected
battle music now plays in combat, can be disabled in Options
mobs may now differ in the amount of faction they grant
loot rights limited to the group that got XP from the kill
changed the calculation of stat buffs that have a modifier: existing buffs are now taken into account when calculating the modifier, except when the buff changes one of the 7 basic stats (to prevent infinite recursion)
etc

28 July 2024

various fixes
by Krumpzilla: Arios 55, Lavastorm 53 quests; started working on getting Permafrost Castle items/system in place to use as a template for future raids
spell/CM fixes by Lardubedu
Line of Sight progress, still needs some work before ready for live testing
etc

4 August 2024

various fixes
CM/spell fixes by Lardubedu
by Renodor: Centaur Valley, North Wilderlands, Lake Noregard, Wiktaan's 4th Talon complete, camp loot tables WIP
HnG quests disabled for now
item fixes by xpli
level cap 40
XP adjusted according to formula apparently documented by Arpiean in 2006
- now exactly replicates the numbers seen in Alutra's videos
- thanks Faxon for the link
- the previous formula was probably for pre-Frontiers
- big increase to XP gains
adjusted mob health pools upwards, they now seem to be broadly in line with HP's estimated from old videos
some line of sight progress
- enabled in Jared's Blight
- affects spell casting and mob aggroing
- only vertical wall-type obstacles are considered
- floors are still transparent LoS-wise
max stack increased on alchemist potions
mobs didn't always correctly double and quad hit; fixed, should be now consistent with player attack types and their timing
mob resistances now have a level-based multiplier; previously, spells would mostly do full damage to arbitrarily high level mobs
physical abilities now also have a level-based mitigation multiplier, instead of just AC/AGI-based mitigation, to be more consistent with normal melee damage
AoE secondary splash damage now hits the main target too (instead of primary damage to the main target and secondary damage only to surrounding mobs)
etc

11 August 2024

various changes
by xpli: Red Desert revision, small Gramash ruins side quest Radavex available at lv40
by Renodor: zones rebuilt: Urglunt's Wall, Gerntars Mine, Oggok Gate, Kerplunk Outpost, Cazic-Thule, Dinbak
by ShadowRampageTV: roamers in Bashers Enclave 11-20, item descriptions, info collecting on Discord
by Krumpzilla: Lavastorm 55
spell/CM fixes by Lardubedu and me
statistics Sunday:
- accounts created: 3915
- characters created: 10792
- total player account online hours: 213307 since December 2023
- top content creators
  - number of items edited: xpli (5288), ShadowRampageTV (4321), Renodor (1869), Krumpzilla (738)
  - number of NPC's edited: Renodor (9298), xpli (2750), ShadowRampageTV (1775), Krumpzilla (216)
  - number of currently active NPC interactions created: Renodor (822), xpli (613), ShadowRampageTV (184), Krumpzilla (132)
  - number of item interactions (procs etc.) created: Renodor (26), xpli (18), Krumpzilla (6), Xylof (4)
  - thanks!
changes to anti-AFK mechanics
- instead of instantly killing, Sphere of Annihilation poses a simple question that can be answered within 5 minutes
- the Sphere is not attackable during the 5 minutes to prevent accidental aggressions
- a prominent spell effect is displayed on the Sphere every few seconds to make it more noticeable
- the Sphere is spawned if you get XP while being inactive for a long time
- any group member can interact with it to despawn it
level-based component of mob magical resistance decreased
base value +40 added to all player resistances
ranged damage (bow, thrown) calculations now use WIS to determine the damage instead of STR
character looks can be customized before entering the game
etc

18 August 2024

various changes
by Renodor: Zentar Keep, Qeynos Prison, Bandit Hill, Alseop's Wall, Trails End, Strag's Rest, Aviak Village, Serpent Hill, Elephant Graveyard, Brokenskull Rock zones complete (NPC's)
by ShadowRampageTV: Dark Elf Rogue 1 - 20 starter quests added
item fixes by xpli
some spell/CM fixes by Lardubedu and me, e.g. potion AoE radius adjustments
buffs stacking update
- non-stacking buffs can now be cast on a player but only the strongest of any non-stacking ones is active at given time
- the strongest buff is determined by how much it increases the overlapping stats
- when the strongest buff ends, the next strongest previously cast non-stacking one becomes active, as seen on an old video (two bard PoT buffs)
- what we know about stacking rules is explained here, some of the exceptions yet unimplemented
item charge count implemented
ticking HoT green number showed a wrong value in some situations, fixed
some CM's adding movement speed didn't work, fixed
pets in a group now aggro if any other pet in the group is attacked
adjustments to how conjured item effects stack or break in combat, still work in progress
join our Discord to follow the development or to contribute
etc.

25 August 2024

various changes
by Renodor: Freeport, Northern Ro, Northwestern Ro, Deathfist Forge, Desert Hate, Deathfist Horde, Muniel's Teagarden, Al-Farak Ruins, Deathfist Citadel NPC's rebuilt
by ShadowRampageTV: DarkElf ALC quests 1-20, mobs: Snowfist 10-20, Anu Village 40-50, Snowblind Plains 40-50
starter quests level 1-20 now done for all races and classes!
some item fixes by xpli, ShadowRampageTV, Renodor, Krumpzilla
some spell fixes by Lardubedu and me, especially stacking changes based on what information we've been able to find
fixed a couple of group XP bugs reported by Faxon
target ring was sometimes inappropriately light blue instead of green for low-level targets, fixed
Sphere of Annihilation quality of life improvements
time of day in game was often different between clients due to emulator clock drifting; time is now resynced once a minute
etc

2 September 2024

various fixes
by Renodor: NPC's rebuilt in Canyons Box, Chiktar Hive, Eternal Desert, Sycamore Joy's Rest, Great Waste, Elemental Towers; added 30+ DS procs for armor gear
by Lardubedu: various stacking adjustments, icon fixes, stat fixes, etc.
by ShadowRampageTV: eastern human spell reward and dialog review 1-20, internal quest cleanup
by Krumpzilla: Lavastorm 57 and 59 (possibly still WIP)
added an extra immediate tick to PoT effects
drain-type spells should now grant only 50% of the drained amount of health and power
new players should now have the appropriate starting items (rations and weapon)
longer charms breaked too easily, fixed: there won't be random breakage during first 90% of the max duration
most spell animations were too quick for historical reasons, adjusted; mainly a visual change but also affects the time your character slows down while casting
big player movement update
- player movement used to be very simple - client reports the player's position, server places it there
- now, the server-side player position is continuously moved towards the client's reported position at appropriate speed
- this should make player movement less susceptible to lag and emulator speed unstability (including turbo mode)
- i.e. you should see other players move more smoothly regardless of their network quality
- if you lag heavily or use turbo, your server-side position will differ from what you see on your own screen, possibly leading to inconsistencies in combat
etc

8 September 2024

various fixes
by Renodor: NPC's rebuilt in Tak 'Xiv, Tak 'Xiz, Tak 'Xiz South, Takish'Hiz, Sea of Lions, Oasis; 35+ procs to gear, 80+ new items for specific NPCs
loot table contributions by Pdanny
by xpli: Wastelands biome revised, 200 items created for the biome
some spell/CM/stacking adjustments by Lardubedu
game accounts can now be created on SCP, in case of text input or other problems on the PS2 side
contribution of level difference to resistances adjusted
big combat formula update
- melee/ranged damage (non-spell) was previously calculated with a formula created by members of the revival community
- there has long been criticism that this damage is different from the original game
- rewrote the formula based on what info I have from various sources
- it's still work heavily in progress; nobody (except maybe a few original EQOA devs) knows the real formula and it would be unlikely we got it immediately right by guessing
- when you hit an enemy, these variables affect the damage: STR contributes to maximum, DEX contributes to consistency, your/enemy's level, class-based factors for enemy and you, enemy AC and AGI, weapon damage
- for ranged damage calculation, DEX and WIS replace STR and DEX
- mobs' AC and other stats are basically unknown because they weren't displayed anywhere in the original game, so they may need adjusting
etc

15 September 2024

various fixes
ShadowRampageTV: DELF 1-20 quest cleanup (WIP), general quest dialog/bug fixes, combat tutorial popup added to starter city locations
some spell/CM/stacking fixes by Lardubedu
two-hander hits get a damage boost from level 35 onwards, source
some melee/mitigation/resistance adjustments
some spell casting animations were out of sync with the timing of the spell effect hitting, adjusted
- if you still see desynced spell animations, please report on our Discord
killing Regal Aviaks should now grant Kerplunk faction
fixes to item procs
paladin Ward procs now only hit undead mobs
mobs no longer use abilities that have a recast time of more than 80 seconds (down from 120)
illusion spells, e.g. enchanter Glamours sometimes stacked wrongly or didn't change appearance, fixed
we are currently experimenting with a new exciting feature that limits the number of simultaneous characters per IP address
etc

22 September 2024

various fixes
by ShadowRampageTV: ERU 1-20 quest cleanup (WIP), DELF 1-20 quest cleanup (spell rewards and dialog) mostly complete except odd NPCs
some spell/stacking/CM/pet(?) fixes by Lardubedu
some item fixes by xpli
level cap 45
tunar (money) enabled; in the first phase, there's a cap of 5000 tunar per character + 5000 in bank
- actually the tunar limit doesn't seem to work for bank at the moment, but will be in effect after next server reboot
- should basically work: looting, merchant selling/buying, trading, banking tunar
- not tested much yet so bugs are possible
- a major part of the economy, wearing down and repair cost of items is ~~not yet~~ implemented
- after that and any bugs are fixed, the 5k cap will be gone
timed spawn system, should be somewhat similar to what the original game had
- a mob can have a defined interval of a "spawn roll", and a chance to spawn on each roll
- meaning a rare mob can have a chance to spawn e.g. weekly, or once a day
some pet stats are now calculated based on its type and level, instead of fixed values in community-authored sheet data (it didn't scale well)
pet STA buffs went broken at some point, fixed
more spell animation timing fixes
etc

29 September 2024

by ShadowRampageTV: Eru 1-20, Troll 1-20, Ogre 1-20, Human East 1-20 (quest cleanup WIP)
by Renodor: Hazinak and Slithtar Hive NPC rebuild complete
some spell fixes by Lardubedu
preliminary implementation of the remaining missing spell/effect types:
- resurrect
- player summon
- pickpocketing
breath'o'meter, out-of-breath damage and lava damage guesstimated
falling for an extended period of time is lethal
some fixes to item wear-down, repairing and merchants
bought the web domain eqoa.live to host Sandstorm's web presence (previously resided on the domain of my hockey game, Kiekko.tv)
some under-the-hood updates, e.g. more customizable stats and movement speed for mobs
tunar cap raised to 50k
etc

6 October 2024

various fixes
Halloween event starting on 11 October!
- an introductory quest
- 4 repeatable daily quests
- 5 exclusive instances (4 solo and 1 raid)
- 7 deeds
- more than 20 exclusive items available only during the festival
- created by: xpli (implementation, instances, rewards), Sontosegara (main intro quest), Lardubedu (costumes)
by Renodor: 800+ NPC edits
spell fixes by Lardubedu
aggro enabled in Oggok
spells can be unmemorized (h/t Faxon)
AoE spells will hit surrounding mobs/players even if the target mob dies mid-cast
resist buffs didn't work on pets, fixed
the text "You have received n tunar" appeared on completing a quest even if the transaction (and quest) failed due to full inventory, fixed
resurrect sometimes sent you underground, fixed
amount of tunar sometimes didn't show up in the trade window
etc

14 October 2024

various fixes
Halloween event officially opened, some bugs fixed thereof
by Renodor: 300+ NPC edits
many spell/CM fixes by Lardubedu
vampirism work in progress
- vampirism abilities may require or grant units of blood
- damage tick in ~~vampire form~~ during day
charmed mob wrongly despawned if its home area became inactive, fixed
Portal pet maximum level 5
the cat and Skandalf assist players up to level 10
SCP interactions now support resetting training points and class masteries; rehab implemented by ShadowRampageTV:
- Rehabilitator Frejo, Northern RO
- Rehabilitator Anja, Muniel's Tea Garden
etc

20 October 2024

various fixes
many spell/CM fixes by Lardubedu
by xpli: Eastern Human faction fixes, with help from Boomin; Halloween festival fixing and polishing
by ShadowRampageTV: Elf 1-20 quest cleanup, original dialog added from videos lv 1-5
bow damage calculation used wrong input stat, fixed
pets sometimes became lethargic, fixed
vampirism fixes, e.g. damage tick regardless of form if quest completed; DoT disabled in certain perpetually dark places; doesn't interrupt eating
etc

27 October 2024

various fixes
by Lardubedu: a lot of spell and CM fixes
by ShadowRampageTV: general quest bug fixes, work with custom texture pack (WIP), 500+ textures; game control tutorial, inserted in the greeting dialogue for a new character
by xpli: a lot of item fixes, Halloween event fixes
by Renodor: added mana procs on items
first version of "linked aggro": when attacking a mob, nearby mobs (within 10 m) can aggro
first version of pet passive stance; the other pet modes (neutral, defensive, aggressive) are the same as the normal pet behavior previously
guards now aggro to some hostile NPC's
mobs can aggro to player pets
pet attack now has a range limit, currently 50 m
dual arrow attacks (from level 35 onwards) now only produce one damage number instead of two
milestones:
- 1000+ Discord members, yay
- 10000+ interactions created in our interaction editor
  - the number includes quests, item procs, mob pathing, etc.
  - but also some early tests, old versions and NPC one-liner responses (many probably still from Jan 2024 when the last batch of Alutra's dialogue data was imported)
a week still left of the Halloween Event!
etc

3 November 2024

various fixes
by Lardubedu: a lot of spell and CM fixes
by xpli: for the last day of the Halloween festival, a small number of repeatable quest monsters have been scattered around Darvar Manor
modifiers are now considered when deciding which of two non-stacking buffs takes precedence
the amount of health and power granted by food and drink items is now determined algorithmically by their level requirement
- previously all generic food and drink items granted 1/8 of maximum per tick so it didn't matter which one you bought
- the change doesn't affect items created by abilities (e.g. alchemist, magician)
when equipping a weapon prepared in the toolbelt, it is replaced in the toolbelt by your previously equipped weapon so you can easily swap between two weapons
- if you were wielding two weapons or a weapon with a shield, the toolbelt swap will restore those two items
some fixes to buff stacking: there was an inconsistency when casting e.g. Valor, Call to War and Iron Conviction in different orders
etc.

10 November 2024

various fixes
by ShadowRampageTV: added many items, item descriptions, icon fixes, model fixes, merchant and other dialogues and merchant items based on original footage; preparing future tradeskills implementation
by Renodor: fixed pricing on gear, assisted Kallosus with quests
by Kallosus: STR CM quest
by Lardubedu: spell and CM fixes
by xpli: fixing some gnome starter quests
resistance calculation tweaks
- some conflicting information exists
- resist chance is now calculated as resistance / 350 instead of resistance / 400
- potential minor bugs fixed
aggro tweaks
- overhealing now generates aggro, previously only actual healing did
- heal-generated aggro increased by 50% (test)
- potential minor bugs fixed
roaming aquatic mobs can now maintain constant depth instead of preferring the maximum depth
ability cooldowns no longer reset on logout
pets sometimes became preoccupied trying to heal and neglected melee combat if heal failed due to cooldown, mana etc.
item degradation tweaks based on video analysis
- item durability is basically the percentage chance the item stays untouched when you get hit
- even items with durability of 100 can still degrade - chance capped to 99%
- removed some factors that previously contributed to item degradation, i.e. magnitude of damage and equip slot
- weapons can now degrade also when you hit something, not only when you get hit
- headwear mistakenly didn't degrade, fixed
group power drains now grant 100% of the drained power to each group member (previously 50%)
some fixes to how buffs break in combat
casters and priests no longer get the level 35 critical melee hit bonus, based on official FAQ
etc.

17 November 2024

various changes
by ShadowRampageTV: added items, item descriptions and vendor updates from old videos
by Renodor: adjustments to loot tables to be more in line with original drop rates; assisted Kallosus with STA quest
by Kallosus: STA CM quest 1, 2, 3
by Lardubedu: some spell/CM updates
resurrection state is now preserved through logout/login; health and power are 20% of maximum after resurrection
buffs, debuffs and health/power state are now preserved through logout/login
etc

24 November 2024

various changes
by Renodor: Sandstorm Exp Camp Sheet / Proc Sheet. Camps, NPC specific loot, trash loot
- contributors: Pdanny and Kallosus, helping with NPC specific loot; over 500 new items now dropping
by ShadowRampageTV: checked starter zones against the Prima Guide to make sure merchants have gear to sell up to level 30; added many default dialogues to NPC's
abilities are no longer automatically learned
- you need a scroll (from merchant, quest, etc.) in order to learn spells
- if you have completed a quest but no longer have the scroll, there are NPC's in Darvar Manor that give them to you
- Merchant Akaron: level 1-15 spells
- Merchan Salania: level 23-37
- Merchan Abirai: 43-45 and were-abilities
- Doctor Doobes: 20, 30, 40 path spells
- these NPC's and their logic were set up by xpli
- Renodor and ShadowRampageTV also helped with the transition
- unrelated issue: the server ran out of disk space for a few hours on Nov 23 so some player changes, including spells learned that time, may have got rolled back
gear level requirement is now enforced
- it previously wasn't because a lot of loot tables, quests and merchants (and tunar) were missing; now less so
- this also means item stat downscaling based on your vs. item's level won't happen anymore
arrows now deplete; shooting a bow used to require just one arrow that was never lost
ranged attacks (bow, thrown weapons) can now trigger offensive procs even out of melee range
breath meter fully replenishes out of water or lava after a short delay instead of doing it gradually over time
etc

1 December 2024

various changes
by xpli: Christmas Event starting on Friday
- The Skyrgamur company of 17 needs your help with the party preparations. There is so much to do and there are only a few weeks left until Christmas. Will you be there to help them? Will you have time to help Gattapefur, Stufur, Huroaskellir and all their companions? Without your help, it is not certain that the big Christmas party can take place!
- 1 Meta quest
- 10 repeatable daily quests
- 4 Deeds
- 1 Raid Skirmish
- 1 Open world named
- Many new items
- 5 exclusive armor sets per archetype
by Renodor: adjustments to desert biome loot tables and some specific NPC loot tables
by Kallosus: INT quest 1, 2, 3, assisted by Renodor
rumors circulate that the magic word hep has lost its power
the teleporting magic word yoho still works for players who are above certain level and haven't learned many spells (so they can fix their quest-based spells more conveniently)
new NPC ability list system
- instead of a fixed list of class/level-based abilities, NPC's can now have a customized ability list
- NPC's are assigned an ability list created in SCP, based on their level range and tags
- first utility: mobs below level 6 generally don't cast any abilities (crits) any more, as seen on old videos
- the old class/level-based selection of spells is still used for mobs without a defined new ability list
- NPC abilities are a work in progress that will take some time; we'll have to create the ability lists and assign them to NPC's
- mob abilities/crits will progress towards the original game while this work is being completed
fixes to some excessive proccing exacerbated by the change last week
etc

8 December 2024

various changes
by xpli: the Christmas event is now in progress!

See rewards!
by Renodor: Vampire Sanctuary update. Vampires relocated to their new sanctuary in ZP; level 46 scrolls split into three groups spread across these camps: Tendora-Buki, Ratman and Phantoms
by ShadowRampageTV: all races and classes now have their original level 3 scroll and ability tutorial after completing the quest
level cap increased to 49
some updates to looting; high-level mobs generally don't drop low-level items
partial/experimental line of sight enabled in Guk
mobs can now have weaknesses and strengths against specific physical damage types - slash, blunt and pierce
all Tunaria zones now have mob aggro enabled
etc

14 December 2024

various changes
spell/CM fixes by Renodor
- contributed by Kallosus - data gathering etc.
by xpli: holiday event fixes, Thenon the Wise level 409 sidequest now available
timed NPC spawn bug fixed, caused some NPC's not spawning correctly
the pet back off command now makes the pet passive (non-aggroing) until it reaches its owner
MassivelyOP has a vote for the best MMO rogue server in 2024, with Sandstorm participating!
etc

22 December 2024

various changes
by Renodor: a lot of spell fixes, NPC-specific abilities and ability lists; pets summoned by NPC's tuned down
by xpli: continuing Christmas event and other fixes
by Kallosus: spell data/sources and testing
charm spells should now work only on NPC's that con light blue or green
disease and poison (NPC spells added by Renodor) should now be indicated by an icon next to the name plate
corpse and looting timeouts should now be closer to the original
- corpse will always stay at least 120 sec
- if loot window was opened, the corpse will always stay for at least 180 sec
- corpse will not disappear if loot window was open within 60 sec
- loot window automatically closes in 30 sec
- corpse will never stay for more than 900 sec
- after 120 seconds, corpse becomes lootable by anyone
- if loot window is opened but it's empty, the corpse will disappear shortly
NPC ability list change: some spells are only cast below a specific health percentage
we've been leading MassivelyOP's vote for the best MMO rogue server of 2024 - thanks to everyone who voted
xmas event also featured on MassivelyOP - thanks to xpli for planning and implementing the event
spells that should only work against animals used to work against any NPC, fixed
over 10,000 new items created by our content creation team since March 2024!
the cat and Skandalf focus towards helping players up to level 5
etc

29 December 2024

various changes
by Renodor: a lot of spell fixes, new xp camps added to Sandstorm Exp Camp sheet (available on Discord)
by Kallosus: spell data/sources and testing
by xpli: a lot of xmas event and other quest updates
line of sight enabled in Halas (most zones don't have LoS data generated yet)
AoE effects now respect line of sight where available
etc.

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